Preventing the double-under guard pass was on tap for this morning. Break the grip and go for a baked chicken if you catch it early enough. If not, push against their tricep and try to come up and out with elbow escapes. If you can catch the arm for a crucifix then all the better.
Rolled with Rachael, Chris, Seline and Nate.
I didn't end up in bottom side-control with Rachael. I dominated this round, with a sweep that started from an attempted foot lock on her part. Passed, got to top side-control and finished with a kimura. Reset and got to her back and harassed her from there.
I transitioned through a lot of different positions with Seline, letting her work the move of the day several times.
Chris and Nate were tough rolls. I felt like I should have been able to execute movements better, but it wasn't quite working out. My goal for today was to let me body move to whatever position felt natural and to not force techniques that weren't there. I was mostly successful, except for when people would pause in a dominant position.
Rolled with Rachael after class for another 10min or so. Did fairly well the first half, getting to the back again. The latter half she had top side.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Wed Night
Technique was shin guard to waiter sweep or X guard. I was surprisingly not very adept at getting into a good guard position.
What really sticks out in my mind for this class was the 20min that I spent smushed under Rachael's side-control. It was KOTH, win by submission or mount. She passed my guard in about half a second, and I spent the rest of the time contemplating my bad side-control escapes. She had several opportunities for submissions, including an americana, multiple kimuras, a far-side straight arm-bar and even a crucifix. I weaseled my way out of those subs but several of them were close. I had a true 'oh shit' moment when she had the crucifix, but somehow I got out of that too.
Two or three times I was able to get to a quarter guard, but in every instance she already had a knee through and simply finished the pass and was right back in side-control. Or north-south.
I got whupped.
What really sticks out in my mind for this class was the 20min that I spent smushed under Rachael's side-control. It was KOTH, win by submission or mount. She passed my guard in about half a second, and I spent the rest of the time contemplating my bad side-control escapes. She had several opportunities for submissions, including an americana, multiple kimuras, a far-side straight arm-bar and even a crucifix. I weaseled my way out of those subs but several of them were close. I had a true 'oh shit' moment when she had the crucifix, but somehow I got out of that too.
Two or three times I was able to get to a quarter guard, but in every instance she already had a knee through and simply finished the pass and was right back in side-control. Or north-south.
I got whupped.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Wed Morn
It turns out that if your opponent is doing a lapel drag while you're standing, you probably shouldn't hit the deck knee first. Sarah wasn't quite putting all of her weight behind the first couple of tries, so I encouraged her to really get her butt off the ground and use her body to yank me down.
Well, she did and it worked beautifully. Except that I fell with my right knee diving into the mat instead of more balanced on my shins. Hurt like hell initially, but it mellowed out after awhile and will probably just be bruised. Ow.
Arm-drag from seated guard, lapel drag from seated guard, Telles sweep from seated guard (either tackle and grapple or scoot into side control).
Rolled with Sarah, Shaun, Chris and Jesse. I had Sarah in quite a few bad spots, but she was able to use the threat of a knee-bar to get out of a choke that I was trying to apply from a weird top half guard position.
Shaun and I had more movement and transition in our roll than normal, which was nice. He caught a very sweet straight arm-bar while I was screwing around in top half guard trying to free my leg.
Chris had a strong base when he was in my guard and good side-control pressure. It seemed like he would let up on positions at times b/c he doesn't want to muscle through things, but it throws me off a bit b/c he goes from heavy side-control to letting me escape.
I was kindof hoping to not roll with Jesse b/c he's a big boy and hasn't been in class for awhile. I thought he might want to hulk smash, and when he came close to getting one of my arms free that's exactly what he did. I don't know how, but I managed to get out of both a triangle and at least one arm-bar. I know that I need to maintain distance and try to cut angles instead of playing closed guard but I still don't do very well against big guys.
Half-hearted roll with Savannah after class. She also had an arm-bar, which started off belly down. I did a good job of stacking her up and keeping a lot of pressure on her hamstrings while I circled around a bit and got to a stable base before yanking my arm out.
Well, she did and it worked beautifully. Except that I fell with my right knee diving into the mat instead of more balanced on my shins. Hurt like hell initially, but it mellowed out after awhile and will probably just be bruised. Ow.
Arm-drag from seated guard, lapel drag from seated guard, Telles sweep from seated guard (either tackle and grapple or scoot into side control).
Rolled with Sarah, Shaun, Chris and Jesse. I had Sarah in quite a few bad spots, but she was able to use the threat of a knee-bar to get out of a choke that I was trying to apply from a weird top half guard position.
Shaun and I had more movement and transition in our roll than normal, which was nice. He caught a very sweet straight arm-bar while I was screwing around in top half guard trying to free my leg.
Chris had a strong base when he was in my guard and good side-control pressure. It seemed like he would let up on positions at times b/c he doesn't want to muscle through things, but it throws me off a bit b/c he goes from heavy side-control to letting me escape.
I was kindof hoping to not roll with Jesse b/c he's a big boy and hasn't been in class for awhile. I thought he might want to hulk smash, and when he came close to getting one of my arms free that's exactly what he did. I don't know how, but I managed to get out of both a triangle and at least one arm-bar. I know that I need to maintain distance and try to cut angles instead of playing closed guard but I still don't do very well against big guys.
Half-hearted roll with Savannah after class. She also had an arm-bar, which started off belly down. I did a good job of stacking her up and keeping a lot of pressure on her hamstrings while I circled around a bit and got to a stable base before yanking my arm out.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Double Shot Monday
Morning class consisted of shin guard on a standing or one-knee-down opponent. Sit up sweep and dump them to opposite side, or same side if they use their hands to hover above you. If they kneel down, you can move to single leg X and either dump them immediately to opposite side if there's space or get their leg across your stomach and then dump them.
I really liked the first sweep, but I didn't like how low on their body I landed. Your knees end up just below their knees, so then it's either a scramble to keep them down or trying to wriggle all the way up.
Can't remember much about the rolls, but I do remember to tapping to a bow and arrow from Jason S. I thought I was relatively safe until I wasn't. :( Rolled with Sarah twice, tried a lot of hovering nonsense above her guard while she was trying to establish and sweep me with an X guard or some variation thereof. It's kindof fun to hover, but I'm not sure that it's going to do me much good. My chest ends up being about the level of their head, and unless I'm able to cut my leg through somehow, I often end up with my back taken or dumped to one side or another.
Night class consisted of various rolling back attacks. Started with one that I know fairly well from top half guard. Also did one from mount and top reverse side-control. That one foozled me a bit, and it wasn't until I got some time after class with James that I was able to figure out that I was diving for it too close to their hips instead of their knees. It's not quite the same as the half-guard or mount variations.
I was working with Naomi, who is a couple of weeks in but she did surprisingly well with the complicated technique.
Rolls were KOTH, win via mount or back-mount. I started down and Opal was my first opponent. It took me over 15min to finally get her back. I worked primarily from guard and tried a wide variety of sweeps but couldn't budge her. I'm a little concerned that I couldn't sweep her. She was locked down and not trying to pass, and she also didn't have to worry about submissions. But still.
After that it was little Rachael. I flowed with her a bit and then let her get to mount. That was it for rolling.
I worked with Opal after class on mount escapes and then took some time for myself to go over the back attack I had problems with in class.
I really enjoyed the vibe and learning process. Didn't want to leave the mat today.
I really liked the first sweep, but I didn't like how low on their body I landed. Your knees end up just below their knees, so then it's either a scramble to keep them down or trying to wriggle all the way up.
Can't remember much about the rolls, but I do remember to tapping to a bow and arrow from Jason S. I thought I was relatively safe until I wasn't. :( Rolled with Sarah twice, tried a lot of hovering nonsense above her guard while she was trying to establish and sweep me with an X guard or some variation thereof. It's kindof fun to hover, but I'm not sure that it's going to do me much good. My chest ends up being about the level of their head, and unless I'm able to cut my leg through somehow, I often end up with my back taken or dumped to one side or another.
Night class consisted of various rolling back attacks. Started with one that I know fairly well from top half guard. Also did one from mount and top reverse side-control. That one foozled me a bit, and it wasn't until I got some time after class with James that I was able to figure out that I was diving for it too close to their hips instead of their knees. It's not quite the same as the half-guard or mount variations.
I was working with Naomi, who is a couple of weeks in but she did surprisingly well with the complicated technique.
Rolls were KOTH, win via mount or back-mount. I started down and Opal was my first opponent. It took me over 15min to finally get her back. I worked primarily from guard and tried a wide variety of sweeps but couldn't budge her. I'm a little concerned that I couldn't sweep her. She was locked down and not trying to pass, and she also didn't have to worry about submissions. But still.
After that it was little Rachael. I flowed with her a bit and then let her get to mount. That was it for rolling.
I worked with Opal after class on mount escapes and then took some time for myself to go over the back attack I had problems with in class.
I really enjoyed the vibe and learning process. Didn't want to leave the mat today.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Sunday Advanced
Largest crew that we've had for the advanced class in quite some time.
I drilled KOB escapes a couple of times. These didn't feel anywhere near as good as they did when we working the technique in class. To be fair though, my drill partners were giving me more realistic pressure. Gave me a good look at what is going to work and what should be abandoned based on their knee positioning.
Did one round of reversing the whizzer from bottom half guard. My mistake there is that I didn't have enough elevation or momentum when diving under to take them to that side. I just realized that I'm also probably not pinching their arm into my body.
Tried to do some passing from headquarters ala Lovato but it was a bit of a trainwreck. Did the little drill of diving my knee in and circling out if they have an inside out hook.
Rolled with James, Shaun, Dennis and can't remember who else. Don't recall anything about the rolls other than Dennis and I got out of our routine of me trying to sweep and him trying to pass for 5min. We had a lot of transitions, and I very nearly finished the inverted triangle. I heard gurgling so I knew it was close, but I couldn't quite keep it. I had a so-so roll with James, nothing near as awesome as last week.
I drilled KOB escapes a couple of times. These didn't feel anywhere near as good as they did when we working the technique in class. To be fair though, my drill partners were giving me more realistic pressure. Gave me a good look at what is going to work and what should be abandoned based on their knee positioning.
Did one round of reversing the whizzer from bottom half guard. My mistake there is that I didn't have enough elevation or momentum when diving under to take them to that side. I just realized that I'm also probably not pinching their arm into my body.
Tried to do some passing from headquarters ala Lovato but it was a bit of a trainwreck. Did the little drill of diving my knee in and circling out if they have an inside out hook.
Rolled with James, Shaun, Dennis and can't remember who else. Don't recall anything about the rolls other than Dennis and I got out of our routine of me trying to sweep and him trying to pass for 5min. We had a lot of transitions, and I very nearly finished the inverted triangle. I heard gurgling so I knew it was close, but I couldn't quite keep it. I had a so-so roll with James, nothing near as awesome as last week.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Sat Fundies & Rolling
Was a little rushed and didn't prep quite the way I wanted, but still had a good class. Taught mount control, collar choke, americana and arm-bar. I feel like I should be covering even more basic material, but am at a loss as to what that might be.
An hour of rolling for the noon class, b/c most people were going to bug out and watch Metamoris. Started off with flow rolling, and apparently a poor flow roll is a harbinger for not great rolling thereafter. I was defensive against pretty much everyone. Ended up in less than ideal spots on numerous occasions when I had no business being there. Felt awkward over all.
Rolled with Nick, Dess, Clayton, Ryan M., Savannah and can't remember who else. Nothing of special note during any of the rolls, other than I didn't roll very well. It wasn't terrible, but my passing especially left a lot to be desired.
Not too worried about it, I was due for an off day. I had a lot going on before classes today, so that likely contributed.
An hour of rolling for the noon class, b/c most people were going to bug out and watch Metamoris. Started off with flow rolling, and apparently a poor flow roll is a harbinger for not great rolling thereafter. I was defensive against pretty much everyone. Ended up in less than ideal spots on numerous occasions when I had no business being there. Felt awkward over all.
Rolled with Nick, Dess, Clayton, Ryan M., Savannah and can't remember who else. Nothing of special note during any of the rolls, other than I didn't roll very well. It wasn't terrible, but my passing especially left a lot to be desired.
Not too worried about it, I was due for an off day. I had a lot going on before classes today, so that likely contributed.
Friday, November 21, 2014
Fri Morn No Gi
It's been a month or so since I've done no gi. I shouldn't let that much time pass...
Taking the back from guard or transitioning to an arm-bar if they post out. Taking the free knee over into technical mount if they death grip the knee that's across their stomach. If you can't get the back, arm-bar with their hand trapped in your pit and/or pendulum sweep and attack the arm again (trapped the entire time).
No submissions allowed during rolling today. To "win" you had to get to mount or back-mount. Ten jumping jacks at the end of the round for each instance in which you gave up mount or back. Rolled with Sarah, Dennis, Antone, Blaine and Shaun.
Sarah came very close to getting my back AND getting mount but I was able to fend the attempts off. I did get mount near the end of the round using a pendulum/flower type sweep (don't remember which one).
Dennis came very close to getting mount too, but I got to quarter guard before the 3sec count was up. I never really came close to getting into a dominant position with him. I may have swept him one or twice, but didn't stay on top long enough to capitalize on it.
I was doing fairly well against Antone, and came close to getting his back a couple of times. I thought I was free and clear during one of his bolo attempts and was content to give up side control when he went right to mount. Somehow in all of the times he's done that to me, I still didn't see it coming. Felt kindof n00b at that point, but felt like I acquitted myself pretty well the rest of the roll. Seems like it's been at least a month since I've rolled with him.
Blaine had top position for the most part, but didn't come very close to getting to a 4pt position. Again, I got a couple of brief sweeps but didn't stay on top long enough to do anything. He was the only that I was able to invert successfully to maintain guard. I tried it on Dennis but he did a good job of controlling my arm and preventing the inversion.
Shaun was more interested in setting up subs and positions from guard than getting to mount or the back. The stuff he was working on was very interesting. He's turned into quite the technician in the time that I've known him.
Taking the back from guard or transitioning to an arm-bar if they post out. Taking the free knee over into technical mount if they death grip the knee that's across their stomach. If you can't get the back, arm-bar with their hand trapped in your pit and/or pendulum sweep and attack the arm again (trapped the entire time).
No submissions allowed during rolling today. To "win" you had to get to mount or back-mount. Ten jumping jacks at the end of the round for each instance in which you gave up mount or back. Rolled with Sarah, Dennis, Antone, Blaine and Shaun.
Sarah came very close to getting my back AND getting mount but I was able to fend the attempts off. I did get mount near the end of the round using a pendulum/flower type sweep (don't remember which one).
Dennis came very close to getting mount too, but I got to quarter guard before the 3sec count was up. I never really came close to getting into a dominant position with him. I may have swept him one or twice, but didn't stay on top long enough to capitalize on it.
I was doing fairly well against Antone, and came close to getting his back a couple of times. I thought I was free and clear during one of his bolo attempts and was content to give up side control when he went right to mount. Somehow in all of the times he's done that to me, I still didn't see it coming. Felt kindof n00b at that point, but felt like I acquitted myself pretty well the rest of the roll. Seems like it's been at least a month since I've rolled with him.
Blaine had top position for the most part, but didn't come very close to getting to a 4pt position. Again, I got a couple of brief sweeps but didn't stay on top long enough to do anything. He was the only that I was able to invert successfully to maintain guard. I tried it on Dennis but he did a good job of controlling my arm and preventing the inversion.
Shaun was more interested in setting up subs and positions from guard than getting to mount or the back. The stuff he was working on was very interesting. He's turned into quite the technician in the time that I've known him.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Wed Morn
Today was a dose of passing, including a side-step pass that works great in theory but almost never in practice, DLR to leg drag, and headquarters to some half guard thing that never worked for me when drilling.
Was able to work with Sarah, and we rolled for the first two rounds, then I went with Jeremy and Dess. After class rolled with Sarah again for another 5-10min.
Jeremy came at me like I stole his lunch money. He very nearly got a pass, but I had the underhook and was able to weasel my way into back control, where I happily stayed for the remainder of the round while actively hunting for chokes.
Dess continues to break the both arms in/out rule in my guard and I continue to throw up triangles. I talked him briefly after the roll. He cognitively knows not to do it, but his movement gets too far ahead as he's scrambling to open the guard or pass.
Sarah and I had some fun. One of the main reasons I enjoy rolling with her is that we're both competitive but willing to experiment. We'll end up in some funky positions, and the rolls are more like play than work. She was working on reversing one of my bolos, and we spent some time trying to figure out how we could get the back attack to go in our favor. James was laughing across the way b/c from a distance it just looked like a lot of legs waving in the air.
Was able to work with Sarah, and we rolled for the first two rounds, then I went with Jeremy and Dess. After class rolled with Sarah again for another 5-10min.
Jeremy came at me like I stole his lunch money. He very nearly got a pass, but I had the underhook and was able to weasel my way into back control, where I happily stayed for the remainder of the round while actively hunting for chokes.
Dess continues to break the both arms in/out rule in my guard and I continue to throw up triangles. I talked him briefly after the roll. He cognitively knows not to do it, but his movement gets too far ahead as he's scrambling to open the guard or pass.
Sarah and I had some fun. One of the main reasons I enjoy rolling with her is that we're both competitive but willing to experiment. We'll end up in some funky positions, and the rolls are more like play than work. She was working on reversing one of my bolos, and we spent some time trying to figure out how we could get the back attack to go in our favor. James was laughing across the way b/c from a distance it just looked like a lot of legs waving in the air.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Monday Morning Hot Ear
A hot ear is a bad sign. I'm really, really hoping it's not going to fill with too much fluid. I've had surgery before when draining didn't work and it was one of the most un-fun days ever. I can't quite tell what's going on with it. Going to ice it and hope for the best.
James sounded like death, blamed allergies.
KOB escapes today. I was able to write them down this time, so that's something that I'll be able to drill during the Sunday class.
Rolls with Sarah, Joyce, Julio and Jason S. Ended up sitting out two rounds due to odd numbers and an apparently inability to pair up with someone before the next round started.
Good rolls all around. Really fun one with Sarah, where we got into some weird positions as we were fighting for the shallow hook in the midst of a sortof bolo. It's been a long time since we've been able to roll at our normal pace.
Joyce did a great job, and really seems inspired from last week's tournament. Her instincts are definitely coming along, and she's being deliberate and patient when setting up grips and such for passing.
Julio wanted to play a game where he bum-rushed past my legs over and over again while I was in seated guard. Not a fun game, but it's something that I need to work on anyway.
Jason tried to work some of the stuff he drilled yesterday. At one point I dropped down for a bolo just to try something different. It didn't quite work, but it wasn't a flaming fail either.
Please ear, don't do the cauli thing.
James sounded like death, blamed allergies.
KOB escapes today. I was able to write them down this time, so that's something that I'll be able to drill during the Sunday class.
Rolls with Sarah, Joyce, Julio and Jason S. Ended up sitting out two rounds due to odd numbers and an apparently inability to pair up with someone before the next round started.
Good rolls all around. Really fun one with Sarah, where we got into some weird positions as we were fighting for the shallow hook in the midst of a sortof bolo. It's been a long time since we've been able to roll at our normal pace.
Joyce did a great job, and really seems inspired from last week's tournament. Her instincts are definitely coming along, and she's being deliberate and patient when setting up grips and such for passing.
Julio wanted to play a game where he bum-rushed past my legs over and over again while I was in seated guard. Not a fun game, but it's something that I need to work on anyway.
Jason tried to work some of the stuff he drilled yesterday. At one point I dropped down for a bolo just to try something different. It didn't quite work, but it wasn't a flaming fail either.
Please ear, don't do the cauli thing.
Sunday Advanced
Four of us for the advanced class. Even number, so that was good.
I drilled hook breaks that I had seen in a Ryan Hall video. From standing, if opponent gets a foot hooked behind your knee from the inside out (i.e. the hooking foot in a tripod sweep), drive your knee down to their butt, circle your shin out and then step your foot outside their leg to prevent them from replacing it with a DLR hook. A little hard to explain, and it took me several repetitions before I was able to get any sort of rhythm with it.
Also drilled knee slice entries and my DLR to RDLR series.
Rolled with Kelly, Shaun and Jason S. Had a really fun roll with Kelly, as he was being deliberate between transitions and it gave me a chance to try to move him one way or the other and just experiment a bit mid-roll. Trying to get a feel for momentum and weight distribution.
Shaun and I were going to go light, but once an opportunity presented itself for either of us that kindof went out the window. He got a great sweep early on, and I was able to use a kimura grip from top half guard to get into a position to take his back. I'm not even sure how that happened, but it was pretty awesome.
Light roll with Jason S., can't remember anything of significance.
I drilled hook breaks that I had seen in a Ryan Hall video. From standing, if opponent gets a foot hooked behind your knee from the inside out (i.e. the hooking foot in a tripod sweep), drive your knee down to their butt, circle your shin out and then step your foot outside their leg to prevent them from replacing it with a DLR hook. A little hard to explain, and it took me several repetitions before I was able to get any sort of rhythm with it.
Also drilled knee slice entries and my DLR to RDLR series.
Rolled with Kelly, Shaun and Jason S. Had a really fun roll with Kelly, as he was being deliberate between transitions and it gave me a chance to try to move him one way or the other and just experiment a bit mid-roll. Trying to get a feel for momentum and weight distribution.
Shaun and I were going to go light, but once an opportunity presented itself for either of us that kindof went out the window. He got a great sweep early on, and I was able to use a kimura grip from top half guard to get into a position to take his back. I'm not even sure how that happened, but it was pretty awesome.
Light roll with Jason S., can't remember anything of significance.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Saturday Fundies
I was on the hook for Fundamentals and the noon class since part of the team was out of town for a tournament. Low turnout, with 4 people for the Fundies and 6 for the regular class. It's amazing how the attendance drops off when James isn't there.
Went over mount escapes for Fundamentals and then I did the same side-control escapes as yesterday for the noon class. Rolled with Dess, Russ and Aric in the noon class. Everyone gave me all that I could handle. I couldn't finish a triangle or omoplata on Dess, or a bow and arrow on Russ. A little sluggish, but to be expected after a long week. Calf is sore but doesn't hinder rolling at all.
Went over mount escapes for Fundamentals and then I did the same side-control escapes as yesterday for the noon class. Rolled with Dess, Russ and Aric in the noon class. Everyone gave me all that I could handle. I couldn't finish a triangle or omoplata on Dess, or a bow and arrow on Russ. A little sluggish, but to be expected after a long week. Calf is sore but doesn't hinder rolling at all.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Side-Control Escapes
Fairly basic, but a great refresher and always there are details that I've either forgotten or forgotten to implement.
The ol' bridge in and get a knee in for guard was first.
Then bridge in, fish your outer arm for an underhook on their far side and either shoot out the side if they're high on your chest or keep the arm up and come up to your knees if they try to move their arm to your near hip.
The last one was a tricksy move where you get the underhook on the far side, but then you use your inner arm to control their far ankle while you bring your outer leg over the top of their far leg. Shoot down a bit, then grip their near leg and punch it up while holding their hips to you (taking them over the top of you). Somewhat similar to the 93 guard where you bury your head in their hip, get under their shin to overwrap their thigh, straighten their leg out to the side and dump them over.
Rolls with Manny, Shaun, Jason S. and Blaine. Had a great roll with Manny that had a lot of back and forth. He usually kicks my ass, so this was a nice change of pace. We both came within shouting distance of triangles.
Shaun was very technical and on point today. I've been trying to pressure in more during passes but it's ending up in me getting swept. He seemed to have an answer for everything I did.
Jason has a bad elbow, so I tried to steer clear of that. I got around to his back and tried unsuccessfully to work chokes.
Blaine tried a double-under guard pass, to which I responded with a botched peruvian neck-tie and loop choke. I though the loop choke was solid but he had his chin tucked tight. I harassed him quite a bit with my guard and from the back.
Was a little concerned about my energy level today, but it seemed to work out ok. I was also concerned about the number of times that I seemed to be inadvertently whacking people in sensitive areas. Sorry guys.
Someone must have kneed me or kicked me in the calf b/c as the day has worn on, I'm developing quite the limp. Feels like there's a nice bruise forming. :(
The ol' bridge in and get a knee in for guard was first.
Then bridge in, fish your outer arm for an underhook on their far side and either shoot out the side if they're high on your chest or keep the arm up and come up to your knees if they try to move their arm to your near hip.
The last one was a tricksy move where you get the underhook on the far side, but then you use your inner arm to control their far ankle while you bring your outer leg over the top of their far leg. Shoot down a bit, then grip their near leg and punch it up while holding their hips to you (taking them over the top of you). Somewhat similar to the 93 guard where you bury your head in their hip, get under their shin to overwrap their thigh, straighten their leg out to the side and dump them over.
Rolls with Manny, Shaun, Jason S. and Blaine. Had a great roll with Manny that had a lot of back and forth. He usually kicks my ass, so this was a nice change of pace. We both came within shouting distance of triangles.
Shaun was very technical and on point today. I've been trying to pressure in more during passes but it's ending up in me getting swept. He seemed to have an answer for everything I did.
Jason has a bad elbow, so I tried to steer clear of that. I got around to his back and tried unsuccessfully to work chokes.
Blaine tried a double-under guard pass, to which I responded with a botched peruvian neck-tie and loop choke. I though the loop choke was solid but he had his chin tucked tight. I harassed him quite a bit with my guard and from the back.
Was a little concerned about my energy level today, but it seemed to work out ok. I was also concerned about the number of times that I seemed to be inadvertently whacking people in sensitive areas. Sorry guys.
Someone must have kneed me or kicked me in the calf b/c as the day has worn on, I'm developing quite the limp. Feels like there's a nice bruise forming. :(
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Quitters Never Prosper
Sorry for the small text on a couple of posts. Fonts are hard. :)
Sometimes they do, but I'm glad that I went to the 2nd class on Wednesday.
We drilled taking the back from closed-guard, including an arm-bar if they post while you're in the midst of the transition and rolling them over for mount if you can't establish both hooks b/c they're clutching your leg for dear life.
It was KOTH, win via submission or mount. It didn't really matter though, b/c Rachael came over first and we ended up rolling the entire time (~30min) with neither of us getting a submission or mount. She came close to getting mount during a guard pass, and I had her back for a piece of time. She had top side control, so I suffered in that for awhile. Quite awhile, actually. It was a evenly matched roll, and I'd be curious to what the scores would have been.
I've been taking in a few more carbs than usual, which might be contributing to my increased levels of energy. Not being sick certainly helps.
EDIT: I wanted to add that these past two days are exactly the type of days that I need to bookmark when I start feeling like I'm shitty at jiu jitsu.
Sometimes they do, but I'm glad that I went to the 2nd class on Wednesday.
We drilled taking the back from closed-guard, including an arm-bar if they post while you're in the midst of the transition and rolling them over for mount if you can't establish both hooks b/c they're clutching your leg for dear life.
It was KOTH, win via submission or mount. It didn't really matter though, b/c Rachael came over first and we ended up rolling the entire time (~30min) with neither of us getting a submission or mount. She came close to getting mount during a guard pass, and I had her back for a piece of time. She had top side control, so I suffered in that for awhile. Quite awhile, actually. It was a evenly matched roll, and I'd be curious to what the scores would have been.
I've been taking in a few more carbs than usual, which might be contributing to my increased levels of energy. Not being sick certainly helps.
EDIT: I wanted to add that these past two days are exactly the type of days that I need to bookmark when I start feeling like I'm shitty at jiu jitsu.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Quit While You're Ahead
Class started off with a hybrid warm-up/instructional on the same guard pulls and takedowns from Mon night. After that it was an hour straight of rolling.
Rolled with Savannah, Ben (new guy transferred from somewhere else), Dennis, Shaun, Jason S., Chris and James. All rolls started on the feet. I did crappy guard pulls most of the time.
Started off well against Savannah and was able to prevent her passing. Got a hip bump sweep, worked mount for awhile. Eventually let it go and she was able to complete the pass a second time around. I was using my hips more in conjunction with framing to prevent passes and it seemed to work fairly well.
Ben was crushing the ever loving crap out of me from various angles. His cross-face is absolutely ridiculous. At one point, he was in top half and applying a strong cross-face. I had a butterfly hook with my right leg as most of his weight was to my left. I thought if I could just get some leverage up on that hook that I could get to a better position and regain guard. I damn near choked myself out in the attempt, b/c his cross-face was that strong and I HAD to turn my face into it to leverage up the hook. I completed the movement and got to guard, but I had to take a second to recover b/c I wasn't all there.
Dennis and I had a good roll. He tried to pass under my DLR with the duck-under pass that I like, but he didn't keep my hips down so I was able to ride up top and harass him a bit from there. I eventually came close to getting his back, but wasn't positioned quite right and kept a kimura grip too long. He got my back, which I was happy to work out of, except I let him get a good choking grip. He wasn't successful the first couple of times he tried bow and arrow variations, but he eventually got it good.
Shaun said he was tired, but Shaun always says he tired. He must have been today though, b/c I fared very well against him. I had back control from his turtle position and was able to harass him quite a bit from my closed guard.
Jason S. worked guard for the most part. Some lapel/worm/spiderguard variations and I had no answer for him. The one-sided spiderguard is really strong and I wasn't able to break it once. He got quite a few sweeps.
Chris was working primarily in my guard. Through a scramble I got a sweep and was caught in his half guard. I really focused on killing his top leg AND controlling the hips. Instead of trying to sprawl back, which often fails for me, I tried to move him instead. He tried to pop his legs free at one point and I was able to slide into mount. It felt very good, b/c it was a moment where I took the path of least resistance. Also, it wasn't something that I'd ever drilled or seen, it just made sense to change my direction of attack at that time.
The roll with James occurred about midway through, and it was phenomenal. I unfortunately don't remember many details, but I felt like I was legitimately giving him a run for his money during the entirety of the roll, which has never happened. I was never close to a submission, but my transitions through positions was the best it's ever been. I controlled hips at the right times, and mostly got out of positions before they turned into bad juju for me. He did get me with a kneebah at the end b/c I was hanging on to a collar grip from guard too long. He commented several times on how it was a really fun roll. I got a number of sweeps and escapes, and it was awesome to put him on his back more than once. He may have been trying out new stuff, or giving me some rope, but it felt pretty even to me.
So now I feel like I should skip class tonight, b/c it's only going to be downhill from there.
Rolled with Savannah, Ben (new guy transferred from somewhere else), Dennis, Shaun, Jason S., Chris and James. All rolls started on the feet. I did crappy guard pulls most of the time.
Started off well against Savannah and was able to prevent her passing. Got a hip bump sweep, worked mount for awhile. Eventually let it go and she was able to complete the pass a second time around. I was using my hips more in conjunction with framing to prevent passes and it seemed to work fairly well.
Ben was crushing the ever loving crap out of me from various angles. His cross-face is absolutely ridiculous. At one point, he was in top half and applying a strong cross-face. I had a butterfly hook with my right leg as most of his weight was to my left. I thought if I could just get some leverage up on that hook that I could get to a better position and regain guard. I damn near choked myself out in the attempt, b/c his cross-face was that strong and I HAD to turn my face into it to leverage up the hook. I completed the movement and got to guard, but I had to take a second to recover b/c I wasn't all there.
Dennis and I had a good roll. He tried to pass under my DLR with the duck-under pass that I like, but he didn't keep my hips down so I was able to ride up top and harass him a bit from there. I eventually came close to getting his back, but wasn't positioned quite right and kept a kimura grip too long. He got my back, which I was happy to work out of, except I let him get a good choking grip. He wasn't successful the first couple of times he tried bow and arrow variations, but he eventually got it good.
Shaun said he was tired, but Shaun always says he tired. He must have been today though, b/c I fared very well against him. I had back control from his turtle position and was able to harass him quite a bit from my closed guard.
Jason S. worked guard for the most part. Some lapel/worm/spiderguard variations and I had no answer for him. The one-sided spiderguard is really strong and I wasn't able to break it once. He got quite a few sweeps.
Chris was working primarily in my guard. Through a scramble I got a sweep and was caught in his half guard. I really focused on killing his top leg AND controlling the hips. Instead of trying to sprawl back, which often fails for me, I tried to move him instead. He tried to pop his legs free at one point and I was able to slide into mount. It felt very good, b/c it was a moment where I took the path of least resistance. Also, it wasn't something that I'd ever drilled or seen, it just made sense to change my direction of attack at that time.
The roll with James occurred about midway through, and it was phenomenal. I unfortunately don't remember many details, but I felt like I was legitimately giving him a run for his money during the entirety of the roll, which has never happened. I was never close to a submission, but my transitions through positions was the best it's ever been. I controlled hips at the right times, and mostly got out of positions before they turned into bad juju for me. He did get me with a kneebah at the end b/c I was hanging on to a collar grip from guard too long. He commented several times on how it was a really fun roll. I got a number of sweeps and escapes, and it was awesome to put him on his back more than once. He may have been trying out new stuff, or giving me some rope, but it felt pretty even to me.
So now I feel like I should skip class tonight, b/c it's only going to be downhill from there.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Monday Night Standup
Standup (as it were) on Monday night. Guard pull into tripod sweep, guard pull into DLR dump-to-side sweep, fake guard pull to ankle pick. Most everything was ok, except my ankle pick was pretty dreadful. I watched the video of my match from last month and my regular guard pull was pretty bad. It's pretty simple but it's a struggle for me to pull off correctly.
Rolled with Rachael, Savannah, Manny and Naomi. I had the upper hand on Rachael, but gave up top position for an arm-bar, lost it and got my guard passed for good measure. I was able to escape side-control after a bit. Nothing remarkable about the rolls with Savannah or Naomi (who is very new to jiu jitsu but has good instincts.
Manny had good positioning and maintained top position for most of the roll. He had my arm in a nasty spot, starting with a monoplata and keeping the arm in that position while I tried to escape. He eventually went for an arm-bar on his back and I was able to slip out the back as the timer sounded. I was in a bunch of bad spots, but managed to survive.
I sat around like a zombie after class, but overall my body and energy levels feel pretty good.
Didn't sign up for the tournament. I need to be kindof frugal with my expenditures and traveling for another tournament doesn't make the cut.
Rolled with Rachael, Savannah, Manny and Naomi. I had the upper hand on Rachael, but gave up top position for an arm-bar, lost it and got my guard passed for good measure. I was able to escape side-control after a bit. Nothing remarkable about the rolls with Savannah or Naomi (who is very new to jiu jitsu but has good instincts.
Manny had good positioning and maintained top position for most of the roll. He had my arm in a nasty spot, starting with a monoplata and keeping the arm in that position while I tried to escape. He eventually went for an arm-bar on his back and I was able to slip out the back as the timer sounded. I was in a bunch of bad spots, but managed to survive.
I sat around like a zombie after class, but overall my body and energy levels feel pretty good.
Didn't sign up for the tournament. I need to be kindof frugal with my expenditures and traveling for another tournament doesn't make the cut.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Rolling Back Attack Monday Morn
Took some time off due to a cold I couldn't quite shake and to give myself a mental break.
Body felt good today, and after a couple of rolls it seemed to get right back into it. Rolling back attacks from top half guard was the move of the day. Felt very good with this, even though I haven't done it quite a long while. We went over some details on how to ensure a successful back-attack, as well as options for banana-split or calf-slicer. Monoplata is available if they try to use their arm to block you from rolling in the first place.
Rolled with Sarah, Rachael, Tyrone and Chris. Sarah and I had a fun roll, lots of back and forth and me just trying to get into the groove again. I kept trying to bolo while she was in a tight combat stance but she had a good grip on my free leg and I wasn't going much of anywhere. Really enjoyable roll.
My goal with Rachael was to avoid her top side-control, and I managed that pretty well. Kept a good frame in half guard and swept her once or twice. She went back for a foot-lock and I was able to stand up on it, but I lucked out b/c I started clearing her leg to the wrong side. Another fun roll, very, very competitive.
Tyrone was working to pass my guard and came pretty close at one point. He might have passed, I just can't remember. I was trying to work the 93 guard bury-the-head-underhook-leg type of passes on both Ty and Chris with very little luck today. I don't think I was fully committing to getting their leg stretched all the way out. In any case, I did manage to sweep/pass Ty. Good roll.
Chris was sitting back a bit, not to guard but not coming forward to pass. I worked the 93 guard again and kept trying to get him off balance but didn't have much luck. I had an arm-in guillotine but couldn't finish. I don't have much exposure to those so no idea what I was doing wrong there.
Happy to be back on the mats. Rachael is trying to convince me to do Revolution next weekend, but I'm not crazy about wiping out an entire weekend at a tournament again.
Body felt good today, and after a couple of rolls it seemed to get right back into it. Rolling back attacks from top half guard was the move of the day. Felt very good with this, even though I haven't done it quite a long while. We went over some details on how to ensure a successful back-attack, as well as options for banana-split or calf-slicer. Monoplata is available if they try to use their arm to block you from rolling in the first place.
Rolled with Sarah, Rachael, Tyrone and Chris. Sarah and I had a fun roll, lots of back and forth and me just trying to get into the groove again. I kept trying to bolo while she was in a tight combat stance but she had a good grip on my free leg and I wasn't going much of anywhere. Really enjoyable roll.
My goal with Rachael was to avoid her top side-control, and I managed that pretty well. Kept a good frame in half guard and swept her once or twice. She went back for a foot-lock and I was able to stand up on it, but I lucked out b/c I started clearing her leg to the wrong side. Another fun roll, very, very competitive.
Tyrone was working to pass my guard and came pretty close at one point. He might have passed, I just can't remember. I was trying to work the 93 guard bury-the-head-underhook-leg type of passes on both Ty and Chris with very little luck today. I don't think I was fully committing to getting their leg stretched all the way out. In any case, I did manage to sweep/pass Ty. Good roll.
Chris was sitting back a bit, not to guard but not coming forward to pass. I worked the 93 guard again and kept trying to get him off balance but didn't have much luck. I had an arm-in guillotine but couldn't finish. I don't have much exposure to those so no idea what I was doing wrong there.
Happy to be back on the mats. Rachael is trying to convince me to do Revolution next weekend, but I'm not crazy about wiping out an entire weekend at a tournament again.
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